Posted on February 18, 2015 by Andrew Balahura • 0 Comments
NORWAY’S trawler chiefs have pledged continuing support for the country’s various fishing authorities, but have also expressed criticism about the state of current research into the state of fish stocks.
The call came at the annual meeting of the Norwegian Fishing Vessel Owners Federation (Fiskebat) which is the industry’s major gathering with many of the country’s leading political figures present.
The conference was told that the vessel owners were “committed to preserving the good and unique collaboration between the Norwegian fisheries authorities, such as oceanography and resource management.”
But there was also a note of criticism. Members said it was also unacceptable that a rich fishing nation like Norway lacked the resources to implement important research missions into its most important fish stocks.
“Fiskebåt believe that this is a situation that neither Norway as a major fishing nation or the industry should have to live with,” the meeting heard. ” If Norway is to maintain and strengthen its position as a responsible resource manager, it is necessary to focus more on resource research than it is doing today today.
The owners said they were confident that Norway’s Fisheries Minister Elisabeth Aspaker would eventually create a master plan for marine research. which would also include research into aquaculture and the marine eco-system. Last year the Federation launched a pilot project which demonstrated what it felt were the priorities in this area, with the results submitted to the Ministry of Fisheries and Industry. It felt that this pilot project now provided a good basis of how to move forward.